Nice take Champions League place, Saint-Etienne relegated in French season finale
PARIS: Nice romped to a six-goal win to secure Champions League qualification on the final night of the French season on Saturday, as Saint-Etienne were condemned to relegation back to the second tier. Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain had already clinched the title while Marseille and Monaco wrapped up qualification for Europe’s elite club competition before the Ligue 1 campaign reached its climax. However, one more spot at the continent’s top table remained up for grabs on the last day with fourth-placed Nice in pole position to take it if they could hold off the challengers of Lille, Strasbourg and Lyon. The Ineos-owned club made sure of a top-four place by crushing Brest 6-0 on the Cote d’Azur with Gaetan Laborde scoring twice. Ivorian international Evann Guessand put Nice in front with his 12th Ligue 1 goal this season, with Badredine Bouanani later netting a penalty before Terem Moffi and Ali Abdi also hit the target toward the end. Nice will enter next season’s Champions League in the third qualifying round in early August and will have to win two two-legged ties to make it to the league stage. Lille finish fifth and go into the Europa League after substitute Chuba Akpom’s late penalty secured a 2-1 win at home to Reims, while Strasbourg suffered a dramatic 3-2 loss against Le Havre in a result which created a stunning late twist in the relegation battle. Le Havre needed to win and hope one of Reims or Nantes lost in order to escape the drop zone, and the Normandy side showed remarkable resolve to come from behind twice before snatching victory in extraordinary fashion. Abdoulaye Toure’s second penalty of the game, in the ninth minute of stoppage time, propelled Le Havre out of the drop zone and